Review of County of Simcoe regional government ‘a very positive thing’: MPP

The Ontario provincial government announced on Tuesday it will conduct a review of the County of Simcoe to identify ways to cut red tape and inefficiencies.

The County of Simcoe was named as one of nine regions the province has decided to review.

The province has also selected York, Halton, Durham, Waterloo, Niagara, Peel, Muskoka District and Oxford County and their lower-tier municipalities for review.

In a phone interview with Global News on Thursday, Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin said the review should be viewed as a positive for the region.

“Having Simcoe County included in this review is a very positive thing,” Khanjin said, “because now we have a government that is recognizing that Simcoe County is growing and we need to address the significant growth issue.

“The reason Simcoe County has been included in this review is to identify ways to address significant growth in our area and issues of growth in the area. You know, are we growing in a smart way, in an efficient way, to make sure that we have all of the people coming to the table and we’re not making mistakes that maybe other regions have made in the past.”

Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, echoed Khanjin’s remarks, saying it makes sense to conduct a review now, considering the growth the region has experienced over the last several years.

“We have growth pressures,” he said. “We’re obviously an area of future growth and it just makes sense at this point to have a conversation.”

Downey noted that a review has not been conducted for 50 years.

The announcement, however, has some concerned that amalgamation may be coming.

In a statement, NDP municipal affairs critic Jeff Burch said the party is “deeply concerned” that the Ford Conservatives are planning to use the regional review as a pretext to impose amalgamation on municipalities.

“The last forced amalgamation was under Conservative Mike Harris,” Burch’s statement read. “Harris’ amalgamation came with a massive wave of service costs and new cuts for people to bear —including cutting off the province’s support for transit and for affordable housing.”

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However, Khanjin, says the focus shouldn’t be on amalgamation.

“People jumping to amalgamation, I’d say we have to think outside the box and think about bigger ideas. I don’t think the focus should be on amalgamation,” she said. “Some of the people raising those concerns, their focus should be on what can they do to run a more effective, smarter, and efficient municipality.”

She says the review should be seen as an opportunity for municipal and provincial governments to work collaboratively.

“There’s no secret hidden agenda of trying to amalgamate,” Khanjin said. “It’s about getting the conversation started and talking about what we can do together to make sure we work harder and smarter.”

The review could also mean structural changes for regional governments.

In July, the Ford government introduced legislation which cut the size of Toronto city council from 47 to 25 seats. Now, Simcoe County has the province’s largest council, comprised of 31 seats.

However, Khanjin says this review process won’t be “Toronto 2.0.”

“This is a regional review that has been in the works for many years, like I was saying we haven’t done this review in 50 years,” she said. “It’s not Toronto 2.0, it’s addressing regional growth, regional growth like we have in Simcoe County and saying look we want to set the table with everyone involved and make sure we respect taxpayer dollars.”

And according to Downey, the review will be a collaborative process.

“We’re engaging with the local governments and the Warden has been briefed. I’ve talked to several mayors and so it’s really a collaborative process,” he said.

In a statement, George Cornell, warden for Simcoe County, said the county will take part in the process.

“The County will certainly participate in the provincial regional government review process, which we understand will focus on service delivery, decision-making and governance,” he said.

According to Cornell, the county is still waiting on details from the province regarding the scope and structure of the review.

“We welcome the opportunity to participate and will provide updates to our member municipalities and residents as we receive more information from the province,” he said.